WHAT COULD GO RIGHT

* The starting pitching is the best in the National League, Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre wreak havoc on the basepaths, Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent remain healthy and hit well in the clutch, and young players such as catcher Russell Martin, outfielder Andre Ethier, third baseman Wilson Betemit and pitcher Chad Billingsley show marked improvement. And when the inevitable injuries hit, the prospects coming up fare as well as last year’s crop.

WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG

* Garciaparra and Kent sit out too many games because of injury and Ned Colletti is unable to acquire a power hitter even at the trading deadline, Pierre makes too many outs and loses a step on the bases, Luis Gonzalez is through as an everyday player, Betemit has more strikeouts than hits and more errors than outstanding plays at third base, Brad Penny implodes, Takashi Saito falters in his second year as the closer and the Dodgers lose more than half of their abundance of low-scoring games.

-- STEVE HENSON